Effect of chemical composition of wheat flour and functional properties ofdough on the quality of south Indian parotta

Six flours differing in quality were analysed for their chemical and rheolo gical parameters. South Indian parottas were prepared and evaluated for the ir textural characteristics using an Instron universal testing machine (UTM ) and their sensory characteristics by a trained panel. The correlation coe fficient data indicated that among the chemical characteristics of flours, dry gluten, protein and SDS sedimentation value were found to be the best i ndices in predicting the quality of parotta. The rheological characteristic s, such as farinograph water absorption, extensograph ratio figure and area , and Instron apparent biaxial extensional viscosity (ABEV), hardness and c ohesiveness were found to be highly correlated to the overall quality score of parotta. Sensory texture of parotta was found to be highly correlated t o shear force as well as compression force (r = 0.99, P less than or equal to 0.001) indicating that shear and compression forces could be considered as the best indices of sensory texture of parotta. (C) 2000 Elsevier Scienc e Ltd. All rights reserved.